Master Johns Blog

Happy Holidays, I love this time of year because people remember people. They send greeting cards to their friends, give gifts to people they love, people they appreciate, gifts to people who have helped them and sometimes to people they don't really like (office gift exchange). This time of year people give to people. We started with Thanksgiving. Giving thanks and remembering wonderful things. Then we give gifts and then the new year. Review 2012 a few moments, not thinking too long on any one thing. You can not change the past so you have to let it go. If you received "A's" in school, received awards or other accomplishments they are nice but they are over. Today is a new day and you need to continue to build your habits to accomplish more of your dreams and goals. Look at what was good and build on it and the things that were not so good make the habit changes to move towards what you really want to achieve.

I encourage you to set goals, create dreams, and start putting dreams onto paper and start making those dreams happen. LAUSD schedule change has made it a great time to set goals because the 1st semester is over. You can not change those grades but the next semester is all about what you do on a daily basis. The 2nd semester begins when you return back to school on January 7. I like to believe that all students start with an A on the first day of class.It is all a new beginning. If you want to do better or you want to make changes in your life you have to change your habits. What is a habit? A habit is something you do without thinking. It has been proven that most habits take about 28 days to change. Some habits are more difficult and some habits are easier but in general 21 - 28 days to change a habit. If you truly want to make some changes start with your habits. Their is a saying "If you always do what you always have done then you will always get what you have always gotten". I have written a blog about setting goals. If you would like to read more then click on the link about my Setting Goals blog

Thoughts for - December 2012.

This month is about setting goals and making changes. People do not like to make changes. We all have our habits and if we make a change we have to think about it often. This is not easy but it is necessary. We can not improve if we do not make the change. All we can do is stay the same but if the world changes and we don't then we are not staying the same even if we do not change.

So where should you begin? Start with your dream. You can not become something if you can not imagine it first and second you have to be able to say it and then write it on paper so it makes sense. Of course your dreams starts with who you are currently. If you have a strong foundation and you know what you stand for then the goals are much easier because you start with you strong foundation but if you are not sure who your are and you are hanging out with different kinds of people or you get different messages from different family members or friends then it is more difficult. This is another subject but I would suggest to try and find some alone time and think the kind of life you would like to live. Think about the kinds of people you like to work with (not just hang with) but what kinds of people do you really like that will give you an idea where to start.

In Tae Kwon Do and all other martial arts and all other sports the physical foundation is your stance. Stance could be on our feet and most of the time it is but sometimes it is on the floor with two feet and two hands touching the ground such as football, but it could also be laying on the ground such as grappling, depending on the situation. In Tae Kwon Do we start with the stance that will help us defend but be ready to deliver the most force from our punches and our kicks into another opponent. This is not magic. It has been proven in science and it has a mathematical formula for force. Force = mass (weight) x Speed. This means all the weight I have times the speed at which I punch or kick will be the pain I deliver (or not pain on weak action) onto another person or object.

Let's start with the weight. You do not have much choice of your weight. If you are big or small has a lot to do with your genes. You could be overweight and that could help with your force but you will be slow and lose energy quicker or get tired after a few punches and kicks and then you have no speed.What ever your weight is Chang Moo Kwan is teaching you from the very first form or technique to move into your opponent to block or punch. We first start in a balance position and move to an unbalanced position via moving our front foot forward and moving all our weight forward to land in a balanced position maximizing the force to be given to an opponent or object. If I stop my movement short by either not taking the step long enough, too wide or too narrow I have not maximized the weight to create maximum force. The next step is to maximize speed. Speed we can improve by practice. Teaching the nerve to move quicker but teach them to more with great techniques. Such as a world champion Tennis player, Football quarterback, Ping Pong player. Golf Champion or a thinking champion like Albert Einstein. They have trained their nerves and built a quicker reaction time by building something around the nerves called Myelin Sheaths. The other area of speed is created by flexibility and then timing. That little flick at the end of the punch or block that can increase you speed to three or four times your speed creating a much more powerful force. This is where Flexibility is very important. If I can kick higher or if I can move my arm more freely I will be able to create force more easily

You foundation is physical and mental. Physical is how you walk, move, and stand. Mental is your life, how you evaluate situations, and your values. This is the place to start and always make sure it is strong and no matter what you choose to do a strong foundation will keep you strong.

Black Belt Highlight

Photo: Mr. Merrick no Uniform November 2008

The goal of this section is to highlight a Black Belt and this month I would like to highlight Mr. Robert Merrick. This month I gave both the color belt and the Black belt some questions to answer to get them started on writing something for this newsletter. I choose Mr. Merrick because Mr. Merrick has traveled a long distance in this journey to become a Black Belt. He has overcome many obstacles that people have put in front of him to become the person he is today. After knowing Mr. Merrick these past 5 years and interacting with him two times a week. I do not understand how a person with as much difficulties he has had can still be such a cheerful person. I know one thing about the foundation of his life is his mother. He always talks about how loving and patient his mother was.

Mr. Merrick went to Compton community college and went on and graduated from UCLA. Mr. Merrick just turned 53 years old. He works with the elections for both state and nation wide polling. He is currently a 1st degree Black Belt. And loves to volunteer his time teaching the children's class as well as the adults. How Mr. Merrick's journey began in Tae Kwon Do was he went to the doctor and his doctor told him that he is over weight and with his diabetes it is very important that he exercises. Mr Merrick listened to his doctors advise and joined the YMCA in the Fall of 2007. He discovered the adult Tae Kwon Do class and started coming irregularly for a year he did not even have a uniform. Finally after a year of irregular training he purchased a uniform and started started training regularly and started attending the promotion tests. Being active at the YMCA and participating in TKD he has learned and implemented the YMCA pillars 1) Caring, 2) Trustworthy 3) Respect 4) Responsibility 5) Discipline 6) Citizenship and 7) Fairness He has gained self control, patience and perseverance. Mr. Merrick feels he has unified his mind, body and spirit which has given him a stronger spiritual feeling and he has become more active at his church as well as a deeper spiritual relationship.

Mr. Merrick enjoys techniques with his hands especially palm strikes such as when the hands cross at a downward blow that works in conjunction with the body weight and gravity. While performing his techniques he is constantly working on what Master Johns taught him that Force = Mass x Speed and that the movement starts from the ground with the strong foundation. Mr. Merrick's favorite form is the Black Belt form due to the movements that go forward but also move back it is very dynamic.

He appreciates and respects Mr. SantaOlaya's dedication to both his family and the martial art. Mr. SantaOlaya is is a no-nonsense instructor. He helps all the students to develop character, skill and confidence! Mr. Merrick works out in TKD extra regularly with Mr. Chamberlain most Sunday afternoons and he will be working on receiving his 2nd degree Black belt next year in August of 2013. When you see Mr. Merrick tell him thanks for his volunteer time teaching and good luck towards his 2nd degree black belt./

Color Belt highlight

Photo: Samuel as a White Belt August 2011

The first color belt I am highlighting is a 12 year old named Samuel Alvarez. Samuel was part of the first class that began in August of 2011. He has proven to be different and to be a leader. Samuel was one of the older students in the children's class and he was happy being there training along with his other fellow students. I opened up the adult class to the middle school / high school students because they need something more in their training. I asked Samuel to join the adult class and he agreed but he also wants to be part of the kids class so I have asked him to teach.

Samuel has a great attitude and I appreciate his willingness to learn. If you watch him in class he is very focused and he tries very hard. Samuel is 12 years old and is a 7th grade honor student at Dana Middle School. Samuel's mom joined the YMCA and when Samuel saw the Tae Kwon Do program he wanted to join. Samuel had a reason that he wanted to join. Two years ago in 5th grade Samuel was being bullied by some fellow students they were teasing him about his weight. He finally grew tired of it and decided to hit one of the other kids in the face. The group of kids ended up beating Samuel up. Sam still attends school with these kids but he says with the help of Tae Kwon Do he just does not listen to them or worry about them any more. They are immature he says. Tae Kwon Do is like therapy for him. While training he gets to work out a lot of his emotions and anger He says he has learned to be more mature. The form that Samuel likes to do is Chul gi Som Dan. His favorite teccnique is #10.

Photo: Samuel with Eric during Promotion test November 2012

Samuel thanks his teachers, Mr. SantaOlaya, Master Johns, Mr. Ocampo, Mr. Chamberlin and Mr. Merrick. He is very honored to have Mr. SantaOlaya teach the grappling (Jiu Jitsu) techniques. He is a very good teacher and alway tries his best. Sam says I feel bad for him getting the back surgery. I hope he can recover soon so I can learn more from him.